As the black monsters appeared, Zhou Yan immediately summoned the Black Dragon Sword. The sword's body shimmered with black light, its edge sharp, piercing the throats of the monsters one by one. Blood splattered as they fell to the ground with shrill cries. However, the black monsters quickly got back up and charged at Zhou Yan again.
Zhou Yan swung the Black Dragon Sword once more. The black radiance from the sword became even more dazzling, as if countless black lightning snakes were entwined around it. The sword tore the monsters apart and devoured them.
But the vitality of these monsters was too tenacious; they simply couldn't be killed. Zhou Yan couldn't help but feel a sense of worry.
At this moment, Zhou Yan heard a furious roar from a distance. He quickly turned his head and saw a gigantic white ape not far ahead.
The colossal white ape stood over ten feet tall, its body covered in fur, entirely black. Its massive palm was incredibly sharp, capable of cleaving a large tree in half with a single swipe. To his surprise, it even had wings growing from its back.
Upon seeing Zhou Yan, the enormous white ape's eyes were filled with bloodlust. Its crimson gaze sent a shiver down Zhou Yan's spine.
Zhou Yan quickly retreated a few steps, maintaining a distance from the giant white ape.
"What kind of demon race are you?" Zhou Yan asked in a deep voice, staring at the colossal white ape.
"Haha, you don't even recognize me. Since you don't know me, then die." The gigantic white ape threw its head back and roared with laughter. Its massive claw slammed down towards Zhou Yan.
As the colossal claw struck, space itself seemed to shatter. The claw's shadow appeared capable of tearing everything apart, instilling dread.
Zhou Yan quickly dodged, but the gigantic claw was incredibly fast. It instantly appeared beside Zhou Yan and grabbed him.
"Bang!"
The colossal claw directly gripped Zhou Yan's chest, sending him flying outwards.
*Pfft!*
Zhou Yan spat blood, his face pale. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the white ape, a deep sense of apprehension in his heart.
Zhou Yan hadn't expected the white ape to be so terrifyingly powerful. One claw strike had nearly turned him into a meat paste.
"Damn it, are all these monsters at the Saint Venerable stage?" Zhou Yan mused inwardly, feeling a sense of predicament.
There were quite a few Saint Venerable stage existences here, and even peak Saint Venerable stage experts had appeared.
Zhou Yan surveyed his surroundings and found many Saint Venerable stage beings.
"Kid, you killed my son, so you will be my burial. I will devour you." The gigantic white ape glared at Zhou Yan, its massive body lunging forward.
"Hmph!"
Zhou Yan let out a cold snort. The Black Dragon Sword slashed through the void, instantly forming a massive phantom of a black dragon. This black dragon phantom entwined the white ape.
"Scram!" Zhou Yan roared. With a flick of his wrist, the enormous black dragon phantom swung, smashing the gigantic white ape away. It crashed into the mountainside, creating a massive crater.
Although these monsters were all terrifyingly strong, Zhou Yan was no weaker. Wielding the Black Dragon Sword and employing the Black Dragon Sword Art, he unleashed a torrent of black sword energy with a single slash, killing a colossal monster and collecting its corpse into his storage ring.
However, Zhou Yan was also injured, coughing incessantly, with some bloodstains on his body.
Without any hesitation, Zhou Yan sprinted forward at incredible speed, disappearing into the dense forest in the blink of an eye. However, the Saint Venerable stage existences pursued him relentlessly.
These monsters possessed formidable strength. Even peak Saint Venerable stage experts would perish if caught by them. Therefore, Zhou Yan dared not be careless in the slightest. He fully unleashed the Black Dragon Sword Art, constantly fleeing, hoping to shake off these Saint Venerable stage powerhouses. Yet, he found his luck to be quite poor; no matter how he tried to escape, he couldn't, and instead, he found himself drawing closer to the depths of the canyon.
Zhou Yan continued to flee, but his speed gradually slowed. The Saint Venerable stage powerhouses drew nearer and nearer, eventually appearing before him, blocking his path forward.
"Roar!"
The gigantic white ape let out a guttural roar, its massive ape arm reaching for Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan swiftly dodged, narrowly avoiding the strike. He had indeed been momentarily intimidated by the giant ape, but now he had regained his composure. His Black Dragon Sword carved a black circle in the void, enveloping the giant ape within it.
The black circle spun continuously, restraining the white ape within its confines, rendering it unable to break free.
Seeing this, the Saint Venerable stage monsters all lunged towards the black circle.
But as their claws touched the black circle, they emitted a sound like clashing metal, unable to break through. These monsters became enraged, charging at Zhou Yan indiscriminately, wanting to tear him to shreds. No matter what, they were unwilling to let Zhou Yan go; they had to capture him and devour him.
"Roar!"
The monsters roared ferociously, attempting to capture Zhou Yan. However, Zhou Yan dodged their attacks, darting around the giant ape, rendering their efforts futile. This scene only fueled their madness.
"Awooooo!"
Suddenly, the monsters let out mournful cries. Their bodies began to shrink, becoming fainter with the passage of time, until they finally dissipated.
As they vanished, the monsters transformed into streams of white mist that flowed into Zhou Yan's body.
Upon integrating into Zhou Yan's body, his cultivation realm instantly advanced from the early Saint King stage to the late Saint King stage.
Furthermore, this white mist continued to fuse with the power within Zhou Yan, making him increasingly potent. Eventually, Zhou Yan felt capable of easily defeating cultivators at the mid-Saint Lord stage and could even contend with those at the late Saint Emperor stage.
The energy of these monsters was simply too immense. After absorbing for a while, Zhou Yan found that the energy within his body seemed to have reached saturation. Thus, he could only stop absorbing the monsters' energy, leaving it for others to absorb.
Zhou Yan concealed his aura and slowly opened his eyes, surveying his surroundings. The Saint Venerable stage monsters were not pursuing him, and it seemed there were not many monsters in this canyon.
"I will first heal my injuries. Once I recover, I will enter this ancient city to search for treasures," Zhou Yan murmured, then began to regulate his injuries.
Zhou Yan continued to tend to his wounds. After healing himself, he began to search the ancient city, hoping to find some valuable items. After all, he still possessed a Dark Pearl, and if he could find something good, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.